


Reverse Falls

by KinnieDude



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Reverse Falls (Gravity Falls), Emotional Manipulation, Gen, Hurt, Implied Violence, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Mentions of Past Torture, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Mind Manipulation, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Torture, Tags May Change, Torture, Violence, Willdip, Willdip if you have patience
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:06:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25533319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KinnieDude/pseuds/KinnieDude
Summary: I'm literally incapable of writing a summary lolIf you're looking for a longer Reverse Falls story, here's one.I just want to say this: I promise that Mason is more complex than what it seems. I've put a lot of effort and underlying issues into it, and Mason and Will's "relationship" is also more complex than what it seems. Please have patience.- Will's age is unknown, he might just be 20, who knows- My timeline says the twins' are 20 years old in the present.The tags will likely change as I write and upload more, but I will put warnings on each chapter.
Relationships: Will Cipher | Reverse Bill Cipher & Dipper Gleeful | Reverse Dipper Pines, Will Cipher | Reverse Bill Cipher/Dipper Gleeful | Reverse Dipper Pines
Comments: 60
Kudos: 33





	1. Light

**Author's Note:**

> I try to update with a new chapter at least once every month

He opened his eyes at a sudden noise that had disturbed his sleep. He felt uneasy. What he saw when he opened his eyes seemed otherworldly. It was dark, but at the same time light shone from somewhere. The air appeared to be filled with crystal fragments that were slowly descending like snowflakes on a silent winter night. The beaming rays of light hit the fragments and light sprouted in every colour. It looked beautiful and gave off a false sense of calm. Slowly, in the dark beyond the colourful light, a shadow formed. It came closer, and when he could distinguish the most of it, a single glowing blue eye opened and looked around. The blue eye blinked once and all of a sudden everything was illuminated by a pale blue-ish light. The pale light combined with the shimmer of the particles made the surroundings appear blurry. 

He stood before a large window. The only thing he could see beyond that window was the sky and the top of some trees, otherwise the light blurred everything out. In the next moment, someone who was seconds earlier a mere shadow, showed himself before him. He recognized the creature – demon – standing between him and the window and scowled, “What are you doing here, William?” he said unmoved.  
The blue-haired demon in front of him smiled slightly and looked down, but didn’t say anything. Then he sighed and looked up with a confidence, that the young man had only seen a few times, and only in the beginning, back around when they made their deal. The one-eyed creature acting like that, would have usually triggered immediate annoyance but this time he just stared without moving. He then noticed how the previously blue eye had now turned black. It surprised him a bit, but he didn’t let it show. He crossed his arms and noticed how the uneasiness from earlier was still in him. Brown eyes stared down the demon, who for once didn’t flinch by the cold stare.  
“Nightmares again huh…” the demon then said in a friendly but neutral tone. “I heard you talking in your sleep.”  
“Don’t be cocky with me, William,” the brown-haired male said in a low menacing tone.  
“I know it bothers you,” Will said sort of regretfully after a brief moment, like he was feeling sorry for the seemingly cold-hearted boy. He most likely was, despite knowing that it would make no sense, but he couldn’t help it. “Mason, I know…” Will hesitated, “I know about your nightmares. You know that, and...” He swallowed, then continued in a sort of sorrowful voice, but still with something that resembled an almost unnoticeable smirk, “I know you cry in your sleep”. His firm but soft gaze into Mason’s eyes held a mixture of regret, sorrow, and something else.  
Will didn’t react to Mason’s glare getting more intense, which only irritated Mason. He turned around lingering the gaze at Mason, then lastly turned his head and looked out the window calmly. Mason sighed, which Will noticed and hoped that it meant that he was calming down. He walked over to the window too and could now see more of the outside. The sky was partially covered with evenly spread hollowed out clouds, that were grey and golden. There was one space where the blue sky was visible. The sun was behind the clouds but managed to illuminate everything still.  
Mason, now standing closely beside Will, looked unbiased outside, though he low-key admired the view. The whole scene was indeed rather beautiful and oddly quiet.  
Will knew that what he was doing right now was probably going to have consequences later, but he hoped he could somehow find a way to get to Mason. He was hoping he could maybe get him to rethink his actions on how he and Mabel sometimes treated Will, meanwhile looking for any kind of sympathy within the boy. “I know you doubt your reasons...” He continued, because whatever Mason was going to do to him for this, he couldn’t do right now. “… and how you justify your actions,” he said and then looked at Mason. “You know what I’m talking about...” Mason, who had now been distracted from his annoyance by other thoughts, had calmed down completely from the uneasiness. Then he looked over only to find, that Will was gone. He huffed, and looked back outside at the sky… “That damn demon”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if this chapter made sense? If not:  
> I was thinking that Mason had a nightmare until Will enters his mind and helps him get out of it and calm down. In the same time he questions some of the violent actions by the twins, because obviously he doesn’t like their harsh treatment.


	2. It's not without consequenses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stanford's out of town, so it's just the twins and William.
> 
> Mason confronts Will about what he did in the first chapter.
> 
> (Minor blood, violence, and maybe strong-ish language)

Because Stanford was out of town for a while, and the twins didn’t have any plans for the day they could sleep for a couple more hours than usual. Which meant that Will could do the same, and he did. All three of them were low-key more relaxed now that Stanford wasn’t there, but breakfast wasn’t as lively as it usually was when Stanford wasn’t home. 

“What is your plan for the day, brother?” Mabel asked rather neutral in her tone.  
“I might have a thing I need to take care of, otherwise to simply enjoy uncle Stanford’s absence,” he said also with little to no emotion, “And what about you, Mabel?”  
She looked at him with an unreadable expression at first, then smiled, “Good, then I’ll take the car. I plan on going for a drive out of town.” Her smile seemed as fake as her eyelashes, but she smiled with a somewhat positive intention. Mason could only imagine what his sister had planned to do or who she intended to meet with, since he didn’t bother asking. Or cared for that matter. 

William stood in the kitchen, and now only waited for the twins to leave so he could clean up the rest. He heard them talk and it sounded like he too was going to be able to have an easy day. 

“See you later,” Mabel said as her and Mason left the dinner table and went their separate ways in the hallway. Will cleared the table and finished in the kitchen. Meanwhile, he thought about last night and a small knot tied in his stomach. He knew that he had crossed a line by relieving Mason of his nightmare without his permission. Mason had yet to confront him about it, and Will was a little anxious about that confrontation because he had no idea how Mason was going to respond. So, William found himself questioning why he’d done it. He knew he’d likely be punished for it. Was it because he thought Mason would forgive him? He had already went out of line when he stopped Mason’s nightmare, but he went even further and appeared before him in his dream. He’d seized the opportunity to bring up something that he knew would provoke Mason, but he’d done it in a place where he’d be in control for once. In that moment Mason couldn’t do anything about it and therefore there’d be time for him to rethink his response. Whether that’d be to Will’s advantage or the opposite. But in the end, however Mason would respond – which he definitely would – Will was going to get his attention. 

It knocked on the door to Mabel’s room. She opened the door and looked up at Will.  
“Misress, is there anything you’d like me to take care of before you go?” he asked. She thought for a second, “No, thanks. I’m good,” she said before shutting the door again. Will sighed quietly. He liked how obvious it was to him that they were more casual without Stanford in the house, but even so this was unusual. Mabel would usually always have something to make William do, no matter how stupid it might be. So today he only had to deal with Mason. 

Will did a round of the manor to see if there was anything there had to be done, that he’d missed earlier. He walked calmly down the hall passing the door to Mason’s room, knowing that’s where the boy most likely was at the moment. He knew that his footsteps on the wooden floor could be heard from Mason’s room, so he was ready for Mason to step out and confront him about last night, but as he continued, no door behind him opened. William entered and crossed the living room to continue down the next hall.  
\- “William,” a firm voice then said behind him. He stopped, took a deep breath and turned around toward Mason who stood by the wall.  
“Yes, master?” he answered politely as always, damn well knowing what this was going to be about.  
“I didn’t give you permission, or even ask you, to enter my mind last night, did I?” he said, dark eyes staring coldly at William. Will seemed unperturbed on the outside but within, the beats of his heart got heavier and faster.  
“No, sir,” he answered. Mason stepped out from the wall and towards Will, “Then I wonder, what made you do so?” His voice was calm but had an undertone of an icy growl.  
“You were having nightmares, sir,” Will answered a little too confident. He folded his hands tightly in front of him. Mason immediately picked up on his ever-so-slightly impertinent response. He looked thoughtfully sideways to the floor as he walked closer to Will.  
When he was one step from Will, he looked up at him with an ambiguous smile. Eyes glowing a deep blue, met Will’s single one, and it sent a light shiver through his body, he took a step back. “I’m curious, demon...” Mason said still moving forward his smile now gone, “One thing is that you take my mind elsewhere, which you can do without ever letting me know. So, why would you be so thoughtless to show yourself – not only that – but also having the audacity to question my actions… my reasons.” Mason’s glare was fierce and menacing, and he now stood so close to Will, that he could sense how the demon had froze and he noticed how he held his breath. Mason grabbed the demon’s face tightly. “You’re my fucking slave, Cipher, I don’t even need a reason,” Mason snarled. Will’s breath hitched. He looked to the side and nodded.  
Mason let go of him and took a step back, much to Will’s wonder. _That’s it? _  
But next thing, Mason’s fist met with the side of Will’s face. Mason then grabbed his shirt and thrust him against the wall. “Sometimes, you really piss me off, demon”, Mason said, his eyes glowing blue and filled with irritation. A red mark appeared on Will’s fear-struck face. “I seriously wonder what has gotten into you. Have I been too soft with you lately, and you now think your impertinence will go unpunished?” Mason thought back on the times lately where Will had misbehaved, and he’d had enough. He was done letting small things slip, and letting the demon believe he had any influence on him. No insignificant fucking demon is going to have any control over me, Mason thought, his powers getting stronger along with his frustration, as he thought of a certain way in particular. As composed as Mason almost always seemed, he could be pretty bad-tempered, especially with Will.  
__

____

Will stared into his eyes and he sort of got lost. A feeling briefly stroke his heart, before it was replaced by another, and neither of them noticed the rosy tint on Will’s cheeks.  
Mason was draining his powers. The twins had previously found out that if they drained to much of Will’s magic it would hurt him. Usually one person alone couldn’t drain that much energy from him, but for some reason Mason was able to do it.  
An increasingly aching pain cursed through the demon’s body. Besides it being highly painful to him physically, it was also painful in a way that it felt like his soul or the core of his being was pulled from his current body. Mason was genuinely very pissed and extraordinarily upset, which Will could tell by the strength of the way his powers were being taken from him. Will’s eye had filled with tears that were streaming down his face, but he had kept quiet until now. A painful scream resounded through the manor. Mason shushed Will calmly and stroke his cheek. “Don’t try to mess with me, demon”, he said with a somewhat sinister smile. It appeared that not only his eyes glowed even brighter now as if there were flames burning within them, but his body had a glow too, much similar to Will’s in his natural form. It was a rush for Mason to hold so much power and have it flow through his body.  


__Will looked tiredly up at Mason with a tear-filled eye. His breathing had calmed but was heavy, and drops of blood trickled from his nose. His body was weak, and the main reason he was still standing was because Mason still held him up against the wall.  
Mason’s grip loosened and he eventually let go of Will. Will quietly fell to his knees. It was completely quiet except his heavier breathing. He had his head bowed down and a vacant stare fixated on the dark floorboards beneath him. Mason only looked down at Will whose face he couldn’t see. A few drops of tears and blood hit the boards. Mason scoffed and then walked away. Will cried in the silence as his magic slowly returned to him.  
_ _

__Oh how he would sometimes act just to get Mason’s attention. He’d intentionally argue with him or otherwise provoke him, even though he knew that the attention he’d get would be violent, it didn’t matter.  
_ _

____

__Eventually, Will got up. He cleaned up the blood from the floor and his face. After this Will left the manor to go for a walk in the woods._ _


	3. We're not done yet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mason's still pissed, and confronts William again.

Will enjoyed being in the woods, everything was so peaceful. He admired nature – everything about it. Every little thing held something special within. Being at peace, yet he still felt off. A sadness, that he didn’t completely understand himself, resided in his heart. He sighed and looked up at the shadowy treetops, a beautiful sight to him. Being out there made him feel a sense of peace. He walked around in the forest for another hour, before he wanted to go back to the manor and to Mason.  
As he headed home, he thought about how stupid it was. He knew it was, but he didn’t care. Being in the manor brought him pain and suffering for the most part, and he often wanted to escape to his real home. But with Mason, there was an exception. In a way, that Will had pondered enough about to overall understand, Mason wasn’t only a source of pain. Without knowing it, Mason also made Will feel something else, something that wasn’t sadness. And since what Will would mostly experience during his time in the Gleeful manor was pain and misery, he’d go for anything that’d make him feel something else.  
After about two hours he returned to the manor. 

\----

Meanwhile Will had been gone, Mason had been practising his magic skills with his temporary overpowering. When it had worn off, he’d gone to watch TV but hadn’t paid much attention to it. He was frustrated over something, but he couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was that annoyed him so much. He knew it was about Will, because whenever he thought about that demon and his behaviour lately, he felt that frustration curl up inside him. It was like he was challenging him in some way, but why?  


Eventually, he came to the conclusion that he hadn’t properly punished the demon, but since he wasn’t home, he’d have to wait. Yet, he felt angry and went to the place where Mabel and he would practise for their shows. He released some of his anger on knife throwing, while continuously thinking over his source of frustration.  


Of the three, Mabel, Stanford, and himself, Mason was the least harsh on Will when it came to punishments. Stanford was relentless and showed no mercy what-so-ever towards William, “He’s a demon, he can heal himself instantly”, he said. And being a scientist studying, among other things, magic, he knew pretty well how William’s powers worked.  
In the beginning, the twins had been appalled by the way that Stanford had showed them how to treat and punish Will. When it was their turn to carry out the punishments, the twins were obviously hesitant at first, but when they learnt that they’d be praised for it by their otherwise cold uncle, they quickly accepted it. They were told that the reason they had to treat Will like that, was because he was a dangerous creature, and that he therefore had to be kept on a tight leash. They were showed and told to not hold back, and they soon forgot about mercy. At least Mabel did. Before they had to punish Will themselves, Mabel and Mason had kind of befriended the demon. They had checked up on him to see that he was okay after Stanford’s violence for example. However, Mabel abandoned her sympathy and did as Stanford told them to. Mason continuously low-key held back and mostly felt some sympathy for the demon, though trying his best to not show it, because otherwise he’d be the recipient of the consequences, and he would also make it worse for Will. Mason didn’t know if Will knew that he held back, but so what? He didn’t care.

Mason, who’d been waiting for Will’s return, heard footsteps in the hall and quickly but silently went to see if it was Will or Mabel who’d returned. When he saw the blue-haired demon a floor beneath him, he clenched the knife in his hand wanting to just throw it at him for some reason. It wasn’t a huge knife, so it couldn’t seriously hurt the demon, but because Mason’s aim wasn’t the best, the possibility was still there. Instead, he went downstairs and followed Will.

“I never actually got a proper answer...” Mason’s voice sounded deep.  
Will, who’d already heard him approach, only looked at him with his single eye a bit confused and waiting for him to continue.  


“Why do you suddenly do that… Is it some sort of challenge? What do you expect to gain from it?” Mason blurted out only some of the questions he’d been going over in his head during the day.  
Will didn’t know what to say, he was a bit surprised both at Mason’s approach and emotion in his voice. “Answer me!” Mason said.

William wasn’t sure what to say. He had obviously hoped to gain some sympathy from him in the first place, but right now he only saw an opposite effect from his actions. Therefore he, probably pointlessly, tried to think of something to say that would end in least pain for him. Mason stepped closer glaring at Will and keeping the knife hidden.  


“Master Mason.. I..” he stuttered. “I was only trying to help,” he then said. “I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.” His head and gaze down, he fiddled with his hands.

Mason sighed stiffly, “Why did you do it?” he said in a sharp tone.  


_What answer would he most want _, Will thought to himself, _the truth? No…? _“No, sir, it wasn’t meant as a challenge at all,” he started. (It partially was) “You...” Will gave up continuing. Right there and then he for once couldn’t come up with any believable lie.  
____

____“Bullshit.” Mason calmly walked over to Will and around him, while Will pictured the outcome of this. Standing behind Will, Mason then pulled out the knife and held it to his throat. He leaned closer to him and almost whispered into his ear. “That’s bullshit, William.” He felt how the demon’s body tensed, and with his other hand he stroke William’s throat with his fingertips, feeling how his pulse rose. He pressed the knife harder onto Will’s throat, “I could just punish you relentlessly for this, but I want an answer,” he said._ _ _ _

____Will swallowed, “I.. yes… I took the opportunity to ask you… why you… do this. While you were..” He didn’t want to finish the last sentence.  
_ _ _ _

____“Good, continue,” Mason said.  
_ _ _ _

____“Y.. yes, I guess I was.. s...somehow, not challenging you, but I… I was just curious, I guess,” William said in a somewhat subdued voice._ _ _ _

____Mason grasped Will’s throat with one hand and slightly slid the knife with the other, “Curious, huh?” He paused for a second. “Why are you challenging me? What the hell do you expect?!” Will flinched slightly at his tone.  
_ _ _ _

____“I… maybe hoped you’d be less violent with me… or…” He couldn’t breath well and discontinued.  
_ _ _ _

____Mason scoffed, “Less violent with you? Hah! Why ever would I do that? Definitely not with that attitude of yours!” he laughed. “What? You think you would get some kind of sympathy? I have to laugh.” He let go of William, only to kick him in the back of his knee and push him to fall. He then grabbed a handful of his blue locks and pulled his head back. He stared down at William with a menacingly amused grin, “It honestly surprises me that you could be so off. How ever did you get that idea into your stupid head?” He used the knife and cut the side of Will’s face causing him to wince._ _ _ _

____“I guess you forgot, so here, let me remind you what happens when you do things out of bounds.” As the blood started dribbling from the first cut, Mason made a new one, longer and slightly deeper on Will’s neck too, before he kicked him forward to the floor.  
_ _ _ _

____“It’s pathetic really. And it’s fucking annoying!” Mason was angry, angrier than usual, and Will could tell. Mason wasn’t usually this violent with him unless Stanford or Mabel was around or watching, but this was personal to Mason, he felt violated.  
_ _ _ _

____Yes, it ended in pain for William, he’d known since the beginning, but he could tell by Mason’s reaction, that he’d struck a nerve. Sure, he didn’t gain sympathy, but the challenging part had worked.____

___William was then pulled up by the shirt and stood face to face with Mason. He looked down at first, then up to meet Mason’s eyes, that stared into his eye as if looking for something. Or waiting for something. Will stared back through tears in silence and eventually started to utter some words._ _ _

___“You… you’re usually… not this… menacing. It.. seems that I..” His breath hitched slightly between his words, before he looked down, “Actually,” he changed what he wanted to say, “..why do you.. sometimes when you’re told to… or about to punish me.., you hold back,” he said looking back into Mason’s eyes._ _ _

___Blood from the wound on Will’s chin dripped onto one of the hands clenched around a part of his shirt._ _ _

___“Huh?”. Mason had partly understood, but was a little confounded by the words spoken._ _ _

___“You.. you often ho-” Mason tightened his grip on Will further, his eyes igniting a blue glow, but Will continued, “You’re not… as mean as the others are… sometimes.” Will sobbed then paused. Mason’s expression had changed slightly, but his stare remained._ _ _

___“Why do you hold back?”_ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued...


	4. Everyday life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stanford returns to the manor.  
> The title describes it - everyday life...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There might be a minor boring part in this, but i guess it needs to be there to progress the story. I'm personally looking forward to the next chapters.

Mason had kind of froze. He had loosened his grip slightly without noticing. They both stared into each other’s eyes in silence. Mason would always have the upper hand, but right now he was rather emotional and his mind was more clouded. He felt like he couldn’t say anything. The anger within him was still there, but it had changed or another feeling had mixed with it. He could only think of the answer to the question he’d been faced with, but answering it out loud, no way! No way that demon would have that kind of impact on him, and he definitely shouldn’t come to think so. But Will already knew that something was different, otherwise Mason would have just told him to shut up or deny that he did hold back ever. But because he’d had been taken aback by the question he didn’t.

Will was considering to continue since Mason didn’t, but he also wanted Mason to respond. A lot of different answers went through Mason’s head as his mood changed. Will was nervous about Mason’s reaction but also expectant. 

Eventually, after a long while of staring at each other Mason moved. He was still angry, though he didn’t feel like hurting Will anymore. 

Mason briefly clenched Will’s shirt again, “Don’t invade my mind unless I ask you to!” Mason growled in his usual threatening tone to keep up his countenance. Then he let go of Will and noticed the blood on his hand. 

“Go heal yourself,” he said before he turned away and left without another action or word. 

Will was left speechless too. Not that he had anything to say, but his mind stood still. He’d upset Mason more than he had expected. It’s not like he couldn’t just slip into Mason’s mind to see his thoughts, but he wanted to find out what he was thinking by triggering him like this. 

He sighed and looked down at the blood on his shirt. Then he healed himself and went to clean the blood off himself and change clothes. 

\--

The next days went by without much happening. Mason and Mabel did their own things in-between studying, and Will did the things he had to. He had to make sure that the twins studied, but otherwise there weren’t many things for him to do because of Stanford’s absence, and the twins mostly minded their own business, which for a change gave him more free time. In these days, few words were spoken and mostly between Mason and Mabel when they were discussing something study-related. Will was asked to help Mabel with some things a few times, which were the only times he actually talked to anyone. Now that Will thought about it, Mason hadn’t said a word to him since the other day. He only found Mason looking his way a couple times. 

-

It was the day that Stanford would return, so Will double checked that everything was as it should be to minimize the possibility of Stanford’s disappointment. No one wanted to get on Stanford’s bad side about anything, especially not Will. Just the mere presence of Stanford was a constant trigger of anxiousness for Will. He knew that if he screwed up, he was naturally going to be disciplined. Even the smallest mistake could set off Stanford’s disapproval, and sometimes Will wondered if not Stanford simply used it as an excuse to sadistically abuse him.

Stanford returned an hour before dinner, and almost immediately after unpacking he went on a round in the manor to see that everything was as it should be. At dinner, Stanford asked how the twins were doing, and if they’d been doing what they were supposed to. They had. Everything was up to Stanford’s expectations, which was much (mostly) to Will’s relief. 

The twins’ difference in way of being, was clear to Will, and it was likely the other way around too. Will was far more nervous with Stanford around, and things that he’d otherwise be perfectly good at were much easier to mess up. And the twins acted way more refined and were way quieter. 

Next day, Stanford asked that one of them took Will with them to town. There were a few things they needed for their next show. Mabel agreed to do so, while Mason would stay home with Stanford. On the downside, Will had to spend the day with Mabel, who was the next-meanest of them. On the contrary, he would be in public most of the time where Mabel couldn’t openly harm him, and he’d be away from Stanford. 

Will was both exited and nervous about going somewhere. He was not used to being among a lot of people, since he mostly wasn’t allowed to associate with anyone. He stayed close to Mabel all the way, because at least he knew her and how to interact or not with her. But with strangers he didn’t know. He didn’t know how they would react if he approached them. He was used to being treated harshly, so he was afraid that everyone might be as mean as the Gleefuls, though he knew that not everyone was. He saw how all the people interacted with each other, and they didn’t mainly seem upset with one another. But he had learned early on in his stay at the manor, that he shouldn’t interact with anyone in the Gleeful family the same way everyone else did with each other, because “that was disrespectful."  
He speculated a lot while watching the humans. For example, Will noticed how the Gleefuls’ way of dressing slightly stood out, it was more extravagant than most other people’s.

Mabel took her time. She got all she was supposed to, but she also looked at many other things on the way. Will simply followed along, but being so fascinated by the things and people around, Mabel occasionally had to get his attention to ask of his opinion on something (even though she didn’t care about it) or to tell him they were walking. 

Numerous people stared at them and Will thought it was only because of their attire, until he heard a kid, “Look mom, he has blue hair!”. 

When Mabel had finally looked through all she found interesting and they were about to head home, she ran into Gideon. Will only stood aside watching Mabel act completely different than she usually did. 

“Hi, Pines,” she said dragged out with a smile. 

“Hello Mabel,” the Pines boy answered with a somewhat wry smile. 

“Are you coming to our next show? I really hope to see you there.” She stood close to the other, closer than with anyone else, and she didn’t seem disgusted by this one. 

“We’ll see,” 

“We’ve got a whole set of new magical things for the audience.” 

“Right, magical… Alright, maybe I’ll be there. Who’s your friend over there?” he asked about William.

“Not a friend and no one important,” she answered. 

William briefly made eye contact with the boy before immediately looking away again. Like Mabel said, he’s no one important and he knows to not interact with anyone. Gideon frowned, “Okay..? Anyway, I’ve got to go now. See you, Mabel,” the white-haired boy said before taking his hurried leave.

“See you on Friday,” she said as he was already on his way, “Oh, and tell Pacifica to come too!” 

Mabel turned around and her smile had vanished. “Let’s go, William,” she said and walked past him. Carrying the purchases, he followed her quickly. 

\--

Stanford used the day to teach Mason some things about magic. He taught him about some basics of new magic to better understand how it works, and in that way make it easier for Mason to use and learn new things. At the end of the lessons, Mason was tired. The lessons were long, complicated, and too serious, but Mason did his best to keep up and did his best overall to not disappoint his great uncle. Not that he didn’t know Mabel was already their uncle’s favourite, but he could still try to get some approval – or at least avoid further disapproval.

“Actually Mason, there was something I needed to talk to you about,” Stanford said as he sat down in his chair behind his office desk. 

“U-huh?” Stanford indicated for Mason to sit down in the chair opposite.

“In a few weeks I’m hosting a social gathering. I myself have a few people to make good acquaintance with, but I would like you to acquaint them too. One in particular, has a daughter around your age, and it would come in handy if they beforehand had gotten a good impression of this household,” Stanford explained. 

Mason was used to something like this, and the same with Mabel. It was easy for them to utilize their charm and good looks, it was partially the reason for their popularity, and, characteristically, Stanford would exploit it. But of course, Mason and Mabel used it for their personal advantage a lot too. 

Their conversation continued, and Stanford told him about who she was and exactly what he wanted him to do. Mason knew well that Stanford was simply using him to gain credence with the other high-up family. Nonetheless, he was used to it. It was one of the ways he contributed to their prestige, and then he didn’t want to argue with his great uncle. 

Later, the family had dinner and afterwards went back to their respective occupations, though Mason stayed longer as Will cleared the table. He didn’t utter a single word. He only stared at Will, quite a lot actually, though not expressing any emotion at all. Will wondered why he just sat there but didn’t want to ask him about it.

While Will cleaned up in the kitchen, he thought. It had been days since any vehement confrontations. He reminded himself not to get too laid-back or forgetting that even small mistakes have consequences. When he was done, he only waited for them all to go to bed, so he could leave the manor for a walk without any of them knowing, as he’d done the past nights too. It was obviously dark outside, but that didn’t bother Will. He wasn’t gone for long and didn’t go very far. All he wanted was a bit of outside air and a temporary sense of liberation. The air was cold and crisp. Everything was completely still and mostly quiet. A couple streets down, he turned around to go back. He soon returned home and went to bed, getting what sleep he could before having to get up early.


	5. Basement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter contains torture and mentions thereof

The next days until Friday, the day of their show, nothing much happened. Everyone was doing their thing. Stanford occasionally checked to see to Mabel and Mason’s preparations for the show, and helped them if needed. Will did his routines, not seeing much to any of the others. He sometimes crossed paths with Stanford in the manor, keeping his head and gaze down as they passed each other. Overall, Will didn’t suffer any major consequences of his occasional mistakes of nervousness, likely because they were all occupied with their preparations.

The night before the show, Stanford and the twins were all in the tent preparing, leaving Will alone in the manor. He was done early with his work and thought he could leave the manor unnoticed for a bit, so he did, once again. 

Will later returned past the time everyone had gone to bed – or so he thought. When he entered the manor, he found that Stanford was still awake and had waited for him to come home. When he’d looked up to see the lights still on, and Stanford standing in front of him, he’d froze. He knew he wasn’t supposed to leave the manor without permission from Stanford when he was home.  
Will didn’t say a word. He couldn’t. All he wanted to do was run, but he knew he couldn’t. Even if he tried, Stanford had his own magic, that could easily restrain Will as it was right now.  
Stanford then sighed, breaking the silence. “Sneaking out? You disappoint me, William. You know you’re not allowed to leave,” he said and stepped closer. 

As Will took a trembling step back, he noticed how weak his body felt. 

“I know you’ve left the manor every night for the past days,” Stanford said, staring William down. His voice was neutral but in no way representing the way he thought. 

“I just- I just went for a li- little walk,” Will stuttered, eyes firmly set of the floor. 

Stanford walked towards William, and William walked a few steps back before he was stopped. Stanford used his magic to keep him unable to move.

“I really can’t have you running around like that.” A firm six-fingered hand grabbed Will’s throat, and Stanford made him look up. “Better make sure, that you’re not going anywhere again,” he growled. 

Will was shaking, and all he wished to do was free himself and run away. He couldn’t stop the tears from falling, as he knew Stanford was going to do something terrible to him. Not that what he’d already done, wasn’t enough, Will had already been fighting tears the second he felt unable to move. He hated being near Stanford, everything about him was intimidating and especially to William, who knew that any wrong doing would end poorly for him. 

Stanford drew a disappointed wry smile, before he let go of William and turned around but continued to hold on to him using his magic. He stopped with his back turned, while Will only stood there awaiting his next move, which was always completely unpredictable. 

“Follow me,” Stanford said and started walking. 

Will had no choice but to follow. He was being pulled along by Stanford’s magic. They walked to the back of the mansion, and when Will realized where they were going, an even greater panic shot through him. Stanford opened the door to the basement and started walking down the stairs. Will started resisting, but it was no use, since he was weakened greatly by the twins’ and Stanford’s use of his magic. 

“N- no, no, please, master Stanford...” Will was terrified. All the memories of the things he’d experienced in the basement came rushing back to him along with the according emotions. 

When both at the bottom of the stairs, Stanford pulled Will closer and over to a place he knew too well. The room was laid out with a whole lot of weird machines, inventions, and weird discoveries. In one end there was a table surrounded by a lot of other things. It wasn’t your ordinary table though. It was strengthened, bolted to the floor, and had straps on the sides. But that’s not where Will was going this time. Instead, Stanford took him to the wall next to where a set of manacles were attached above a sort of platform. Along the chains of the manacles ran wires connected somewhere to the machinery. Stanford put them around Will’s wrists while using magic to hold him still. Will was crying and his heart racing, he was too familiar with everything down here and kept pleading for Stanford to not do this to him. Obviously, Stanford didn’t care at all, and when he’d fastened the manacles, he released Will from his magic. That same second Will started pulling on them and tried to free himself using both magic and physical force, but neither worked. Anything in the basement built to hold someone, had been made with unicorn hair to keep a demon like Will from using magic to escape. Will only wound up hurting himself in a panicked attempt to run. 

“Pl- please, master Stanford,” he sobbed after calming slightly. 

Stanford was unbiased, and only stood by, working with the machinery. A low humming noise began in the background of Will’s sobbing, and soon Stanford pressed a button that would send electricity to the manacles. It gave a start in Will. And again. And a few times before Stanford was reminded to turn the voltage down a bit. 

“Whoops, I forgot what we used this for last time.” Stanford watched him a minute before concluding that it was as it should be. 

“Please, master Stanford, please let me go,” he cried between the shocks, as Stanford left, turning the lights off at the top of the stairs before closing the door. 

Like a deer caught in an electric fence, so was Will now being exposed to the same shock every second. Different from the deer, the voltage in this case was significantly higher, and Will had to keep using his magic to heal himself. Fortunately, healing in a severe case like this this happened whether he was conscious or not. 

The basement was a place of suffering. At least for Will, since suffering was the only thing he’d experienced down there. During the first long time after Will came to the mansion, Stanford, with Mabel observing, learning, and helping many of these times, had performed a vast series of experiments on him. Everything from simply poking him with a needle or asking questions, to pushing him to the brink of death using varies methods. The manacles had for example been used to find out about how much it would take to kill Will. They had also been used to put him under constant shock and see how long it would take him to heal a certain injury while enduring different voltages. Moreover, regarding experiments on him, Will had been strapped to the table many times but only had memories of about half of what had happened those times. Whether fear had made him block out the memories, or if it was because he’d been unconscious. One thing for sure, was that everything that had happened there had been torture to him.  
Something he remembers, was waking up and finding wounds on his body, some more and some less severe, that he had to heal.  
No mercy came in the way of Stanford’s gain, and just wait till he could tell his fellow scientists he had a powerful demon in laboratory. One day, Will had woken up to the sight of two men in laboratory, who soon worked together in the same lane as Stanford. 

For months, Will had been in the basement enduring torment, only sometimes allowed to go up following with Stanford. Eventually, when Stanford didn’t need him for scientific study all the time anymore, he learnt to be their servant instead and only rarely had to go back to the basement. 

As far a Will knew, having a physical body was mere torment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I recently got a whole lot of ideas for this story, that i'm really excited to write!  
> I appreciate all feedback. Thank you for reading!


	6. Sincere, or just for show. No tell.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the show, the twins have the weekend off. They eventually ask where Will is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for taking so long with updating.
> 
> Warning: (Mild) post-torture

The show started in ninety minutes, and Mabel and Mason were getting dressed and otherwise readying themselves. Stanford had already headed down to the tent and started setting things up and turning on all the lights. And earlier the same day, he'd been down in the basement to turn off the electricity to make sure Will had enough power for the twins to use. When done, Mabel and Mason headed down there together, where people had already started to gather. They walked in through the back and helped their uncle set up the rest before warming up in the last twenty minutes before the show. Finally, the lights went out, the crowd’s chatting died down, and the twins entered to bid them welcome.

The show went well as usual, and afterwards Mabel went to find the Pines boy, whom she’d spotted in the crowd during the show. Mason greeted some of the people too and answering some of the audience’s question. Afterwards they went home to go to bed, leaving most of the mess to be taken care off another time.

-

The twins had the weekend off and could therefore sleep in the next day. They did so both days and did nothing much during the weekend. 

“Uncle Stanford, do you know where Will is? I haven’t seen him,” Mabel asked Stanford at the dinner table on Sunday night.  
“Yes. Do you need him for anything specific?”  
“Well.. Not really, I was just wondering. When will he be back?”  
“Soon,” he replied. 

A brief moment of silence followed.

“So, where is he?” Mason then asked. Stanford frowned slightly,  
“He’s helping me in the basement.”  
“Helping you?” Mason raised an eyebrow. Stanford nodded slowly without a word. 

When Stanford said that, Mason felt a tiny knot in his stomach. He pictured what he knew Stanford meant by “helping”, which was most likely some kind of torture for Will. Mason remembered some of the things Stanford did to Will “for science”, but let no existing distaste for it show.

“Have you prepared for tomorrow’s lessons?” Stanford asked them.  
“Yes, uncle," they both answered.  
“Good.” 

After dinner, Stanford went to do some work for the next day, Mabel went to her room, and Mason went outside for a bit. He didn’t go anywhere, he only sat outside on the stairs at the main entrance.

-

“What did he-”

One went towards the other one on the floor.

“Can you...” 

“I...” 

Neither could properly utter themselves. 

“Don’t”

He stopped, unable to get closer. Slightly blurred, he could simply look at the pale being in front of him that barely moved. A sudden loud bang made him turn around, before everything then turned black for a split second.

The vivid scene changed in the blink of an eye, and was replaced by the familiar dim room. Heart beating fast, Mason sighed and laid back down. 

Half an hour passed, until sleep decidedly was out of the question. He opened the window for some cool air and stared in the dark at the outline of trees beyond the lawn.  
After a while, he put on a bathrobe and left his room. With the others sleeping, Mason could do whatever he wanted without anyone telling him off, and he eventually found himself at the door to the basement. Everything dark and silent around him, he proceeded to open the door quietly. He flipped the light switch and went forward.  
Mason hadn’t been much in the basement lately, unlike Mabel who was often down there with their uncle. As he walked down the stairs he noticed how quiet everything was. At other times he’d been down there, a machine of some kind had always been running, so it gave off an unusually creepier vibe. When he neared the end of the stairs, he looked around. At first glance, there was nothing standing out, but he knew that Will would be there somewhere. Unless Stanford was lying and had done something out of the ordinary, but Mason was pretty sure he hadn’t. He went into the extending room, and now a low humming noise became audible. He then saw Will at the far end wall, whom hanged seemingly unconscious from the manacles. Mason walked over to Will and looked him over. Rolling his eyes he got to the small computer controlling the power. He’d seen Stanford’s previous use of the manacles, thus he knew how it worked and turned it off. Afterwards he sat down on a nearby chair and looked around for a bit. Mason suppressed a chill partially caused by temperature and partially caused by atmosphere. To be frank, he didn’t like the basement either. He himself hadn’t experienced the suffering, but he’d seen Will go through it. The room radiated the energy of the cruel actions it had been used for. 

The time was 2:47AM, and it dead quiet. Within the next forty-five minutes, Mason walked around a bit looking at some of all the things lying around. 

He was reading in a book he’d found, when discomfort woke up Will. Mason had looked up from the book, when the other had started moving, now watching him instead.  
It took a moment for Will to realize he wasn’t alone and when he did, Mason got up. Will being scared and slightly confused, took a step back at the other’s calm but unwavering approach. Mason looked Will over another time, and Will looked down to avoid eye contact. At least until Mason lifted his head to quickly examine his face and visible eye. He acknowledged Will’s 'lightly' burned and bruised wrists, and the exhausted and pained expression he held, before letting go and walking away without a word spoken. 

“M- master, wha- what are you doing here?” Will asked with a hoarse voice after Mason had sat back down.  
“You’re _my _demon, why wouldn’t I be here?” he answered. “Tch, I’m checking that my uncle hasn’t killed you,” he said with no concern in his voice, and afterwards continued reading.__

__

__At about five, Mason decided it’d be best to go upstairs. The others would soon get up, and he too needed a bit of sleep. Before leaving, he had to turn the power back on, so Stanford wouldn’t know he was ever there. He glanced at Will and stood up, “Uncle can’t know, I was here.”_ _

__“Thank you,” Will said barely audible, before Mason turned the power back on. The electricity made Will wince, but he held back a full reaction to the pain. Mason left and turned off the lights when he reached the end of the stairs, leaving Will alone once again._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> Comments and kudos are very much appreciated!  
> I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!
> 
> I hope you have a great day, and take care of yourselves<3


	7. Weird occurrences (Glitch)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will has two encounters that are off. (I'm still incapable of writing any kind of summary)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is short, but since I have been writing a lot recently and am one chapter behind on updating, I expect to upload at least one more chapter this month. 
> 
> As I feel like my writing improves, I feel like I could make the first chapters better. So if you’ve made it this far, I just want to say, thank you!
> 
> Enjoy! (Hopefully)

It was eight in the morning when it knocked on Mason’s door.  
“Mason, why aren’t you up yet?” It was uncle. _Damn. _He looked at the time and remembered he’d forgotten to set an alarm.  
“I’m on my way, sorry,” he said.  
A moment later he showed at the dinner table, “I’m sorry, I’d forgotten to set an alarm.”  
Soon, they had to study with Stanford, which would take about four hours in total. __

__After the lessons, Mabel and Mason did their ‘homework’ for tomorrow together. At some point Mason had turned his head and seen Will pass by. So Stanford let him go. Mason had otherwise prepared himself to ask Stanford to get his demon back, but now that wasn’t necessary._ _

__Later, past dinner and when the others had gone to bed, Mason was still up reading a book. He was on his way to his room, when he stopped outside his door, thinking for a second before entering his room. He changed clothes and laid on his bed. Sleepless, he only laid with his eyes closed, lost in thoughts until falling asleep hours later.__

____ _ _

Next day, they all met at the dinner table for breakfast, where Will had prepared everything. Will looked at Mason and wondered again, but Mason seemed as indifferent as always.  
A little past eight, their lessons with an outside teacher began, and afterwards Mabel and Mason went out to run some errands.

____

__

__

__

__The next days passed by with lessons with Stanford, where they were studying a new field within magic. Afterward, Stanford had told them about the details of the gathering he was holding next Saturday over, and they had to be prepared for that too. He wanted them to do a small private performance for the guests, which he of course would help them prepare next week._  
_

__

-

__

__It was Saturday before noon, and they had the day off. Stanford was out doing something related to the gathering, and the twins were minding their business. Mabel was doing some magic practice, and Mason was in the forest pondering over a few things that bothered him. Unbeknownst to the others, Mabel had studied some more advanced magic, that they had only briefly been introduced to._ _

__

__Will was doing chores as usual. He had been told to start making the driveway look presentable for the upcoming event. It was a little windy and partially cloudy, yet Will kind of enjoyed working outside for a change. A sudden gust of wind, more powerful than the others, hit and made more leaves fly off the trees and whirled around those already on the ground. Will looked up and watched the colourful leaves falling. Then for a mere millisecond or two, he thought he saw a familiar silhouette on the house behind. He looked around, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. After a moment, he returned to his work, but then some weird feeling made him look up again. This time the silhouette, that had much resemblance to his own true form, was visible through a kind of portal in mid air. Will was puzzled and watched curiously. Then the one he saw through the portal turned around and looked right at him before the portal flashed and disappeared. It wasn’t himself despite the strong resemblance. He was puzzled, yet a little later, he went back to working._ _

__

  


__

__“Hmm, maybe the demon knows something... William!”_ _

__

__Mabel was in the tent reading about summoning spells among other things. And after earning some new knowledge about the subject and offhand reading aloud one of the spells, she had some questions for Will._ _

__

__“Mistress?” Will said as he walked in through the front of the tent. “Mistress?” he repeated, as he walked toward the stage._ _

__

__“Will!” it came from behind the scene. She pushed aside the curtain and waved for him to come back there. Things they’d used in their last performance were still lying around, and Will caught his reflection in a mirror standing in the messy backstage. He reminded himself that he had to take care of this mess too._ _

__

__“Can you help me understand this?” Mabel asked Will and showed him the book and pages she’d been studying. Will took a good look and read it all through._ _

__

__“This is a… M- mistress was there when master summoned me, correct?”_ _

__

__“Yes, but he didn’t tell me everything. I was only there, helping with a few lesser important matters.”_ _

__

__“Well, okay then, tell me what it is that you don’t understand?”_ _

__

__Truth is, Will didn’t actually want to help her with this. Why would she want to know anyway? The reason she was here in the tent, was most likely to not let the others know that she was reading this._ _

__

__He knew why it didn’t make sense but didn’t want to tell her. Neither did he want to lie, or more, be caught lying. If he didn’t help her, she might find out he didn’t tell her what he knew and get punished for it. Mabel could be rather cruel, when she didn’t get what she wanted, so he ended up explaining most of it to her._ _

__

__“I hope it makes better sense now -it is a very complicated one, mistress.”_ _

__

__“It’s fine, thank you, Will.”_ _

__

__As he awaited her next request or, hopefully, for her to tell him to leave, she turned a few pages in another book._ _

__

__“This!” she said and showed him a page with general information about general summoning. Again, he read it through and answered her questions as well as he could regarding the subject._ _

__

__“You can go now,” she said when she’d gotten the answers she wanted._ _

__

__Will left, finding her sudden interest in spells etc. and the immediate dismission a little weird, but he figured they had probably had lessons in them recently and that she was more interested in that right now._ _

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to say, we’re going to see more of Mabel in general and everyone’s past soon.  
> Also, my initial intention was to almost only focus on Mason and Will, but I decided to focus equally on all individual relationships. 
> 
> Thank you for reading, have a great day/night!


	8. Weird encounters, part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a creature from the woods

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have soo much more written than uploaded

From peaceful sleep, he suddenly stared into the dark with wide open eyes. Something yet unidentified, had interrupted his sleep. Everything laid quiet, as everyone was supposedly asleep by now. He sat up in the bed and looked out the window. The dark seemingly held nothing unusual, but only for another minute. A shadow, barely visible in the subtle light from the moon, approached the mansion in a searching manner. Heading through the driveway, the four-legged being’s size showed for real.  
Immediately, Will had pulled on more clothes and left his room. He used light from his palm to find his way downstairs. Feeling the creature’s presence strongly now and along with it, it’s intentions, but he didn’t know why, - why is this creature after his master?  
Regardless, that’s not what mattered right now, only that it was, and that he had to get in its way. 

“Will?”  


He quickly looked up, “Miss- stress?!” 

Still dressed in daywear, she sat on a table in the entrance hall swinging her legs back and forth  


“Wha- What are y- you doing up, mistress?” he asked carefully, his heart beating fast from the surprise. But something was off. For a moment confusion clouded his mind. Mabel was in her room, right? He hadn’t sensed her presence down here, he was sure she was upstairs.  


“Just waiting.”  


“Waiting? F- for what.. exactly?” 

If even possible, his face probably turned a little more pale.  
“Y- You’re...” The room went quiet, as Will’s mind started to make sense of things. “You’re n- not mistress, are you?”  


She frowned lightly, “What? Of course, I am.” 

Will didn’t believe her.  


“Do you want to hurt your brother? Why?” 

She acknowledged that he’d seen through her intentions. “Hmm, I- I’m just… hurting him back.” 

It didn’t make sense to Will. Hurting him back? “What? No, I won’t let you,” he said and proceeded to leave. 

Mabel watched him disappear out the front door in the entry.  
“I won’t let you,” she repeated thoughtfully.  


Outside, glowing eyes had fixated on Will the moment he’d went through the door. Despite the being’s overwhelming size equal to a large grizzly’s, Will remained unafraid. It had previously sniffed around in the driveway, and now, trying to catch Will’s scent, it slowly approached. Will too stepped forward. When they had only few feet of space between them, they both stopped. Will stayed calm, as the creature in front of him continued to try to figure out this being in its path.

Will had it completely figured out already and so, he also sensed a spell - the being wasn’t here by free will. He then calmly reached his hand forward, which the being had no reaction to at first, until it suddenly tensed up and its eyes widened. Before it could make any further movements, Will turned his hand, and shortly after the being began to waver and its knees soon bent under it. 

Will then sighed. The creature in front of him appeared to be old, judging from the number of scars across its partially bare face and ears. Stiff dark hair covered its large body, and its feet had rough wide ‘nails’ that stuck out under the hairs.  


While Will stood there and thought over the situation, Mabel stepped outside. Pensively, she looked at the creature as she slowly walked closer.  


“That thing is so creepy,” she said. 

Her calm behaviour had Will watching her closely, and he saw the katana in her hand. (With her love for sharp objects, of course she'd have a katana in her collection). 

“Why did you do that?” she said with a pout, still keeping her eyes on the creature.  


“Whoever you are, I can’t let you hurt my master.” 

She scowled at him,  
“I’m Mabel!” Her face changed, and she proceeded to lift the katana and swing it at Will. 

“Get out of my way!” Her voice echoed in the nearby trees. 

Will avoided it. She swung it at him again. And again. He continued to avoid pretty easily, watching her getting more and more upset.  


“Why do you want to hurt him?!” 

She gave no answer but swung the katana again. On the fifth time, Will stopped her. He used his magic to stop it mid-air.  


“Please, stop,” he said. 

She held on to the katana caught in the air, as she caught her breath. 

“What are you doing? You- you don’t want to hurt your brother for real, do you?” 

She quickly looked around, then back at him. “I simply respond in kind,” she said, her eyes holding a spiteful expression.  


“H- I’m sure he didn’t send a spellbound dangerous creature after you. I… He wouldn’t hurt you like this?!” 

She scoffed, “No, but he let a dangerous creature come way too close - almost come between us” 

Will watched her for a brief moment. 

“What?” A longer pause. “…I’m not-” 

He paused again. Convinced this wasn’t truly mistress, he was less afraid to confront her. Also, it was to protect his master and therefore inevitable, that he’d do anything he could. She hadn’t used her magic, which was odd and a big tell, but neither did she wear her headband. Many thoughts about this went through his head, and he only got more questions to ask. And with a clear upper hand, he had time to ask them too. 

For now, he slowly released the magic hold he had on the katana in her hand.  


“It is your different views on certain things, that came between you,” he then said.  


“My brother doesn’t understand how perilous you are,” she said spitefully.  


“I- I’m trying to _protect _him right now. From _you.”___

___“I don’t trust you, you’re a fucking demon! How can he not see what you really are?!” She lifted the katana again, but Will caught it. For a moment, he thought he saw her eyes glistening a little more than before._ _ _

___Mabel eventually let go of the katana, still keeping her glower on Will.  
_ _ _

___“You’re just a useless fucking demon… Why does my brother have to fight with uncle? About you.” Her questions were more to herself than to Will. “I don’t get it,” she said calmer now. “How doesn’t he see it. You’re absolutely fine, the things we do to you don’t actually hurt you. You’re just a crybaby. I want him to understand that.”_ _ _

___Despite her voice sounding quite neutral, tears clearly trickled down her cheeks. Will let the katana fall onto the ground, though not right next to her.  
_ _ _

___“I don’t mean to harm any of you – it’s even part of my deal to serve and help you, regardless.”_ _ _

___After a pause and blinking away a few more tears, she spoke again.  
_ _ _

___“I don’t fucking trust you. I obviously trust my family over you.”_ _ _

___Will sighed, contemplating how much he wanted to counter her words.  
_ _ _

___“Naturally. But that doesn’t mean they’re right. And.. you mean you trust Stanford, yeah.”  
_ _ _

___“You-! You're- No, this is not about you. Why am I even talking to you?! Just-”_ _ _

___She paused and her eyes landed on the sleeping being next to them.  
_ _ _

___“I wish my brother understood. He’s a fool. But… I don’t really want to hurt him, I just wish he’d listen to uncle.”_ _ _

____

With those words, Mabel or _“Mabel” _vanished. As Will had thought, it wasn’t actually her - _She was way too friendly to be the real Mabel _. Now, he wondered if the spell on the being was lifted, or if he simply couldn’t tell when it was sleeping, so he let it wake up and waited to find out.  
____

___Not long after, the beast woke up and simply took to the woods, and Will who’d been watching it from the stairs at the entrance, could finally go back inside, bringing the katana with him._ _ _


	9. Stay around

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To prepare for some good ol' angst, lemme begin with how it all came to be

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seizing this 2nd spring day to post a chapter

On a day like any other, the Cipher demon received the signs of being summoned. A few moments later, it shifted to the location of the summoning, and a glowing blue triangle appeared above a circle drawn on the ground. Beside it stood two relatively beautiful young people, who looked somewhat alike. One male and one female. A quick look around determined they were in a forest. The demon glanced back at the humans to view them a second time. They were both dressed nice, both in mostly black except the female wore a rosewood coloured blazer. They both had the same dark walnut brown hair. The female’s was long and silky reaching down to her waist. The male’s reached just below his ears and was half swept back, (of course), showing a prominent birthmark. 

-

“Are you ready?”  


“Yes, let’s do this,” she said with a confident smile.

Two years ago, their uncle had presented the idea that they summon a demon. He said they would all receive a great benefit and great power. That’s kind of where it all started.

A series of words from something that appeared to be a different language was spoken out loud for a while by the two, and soon, a shadow engulfed the area – to a such extent that their eyes had to adjust to the new setting. Not only the light had changed, but everything had lost its colour. The wind and movement in the trees had ceased, and a thick blanket of dead stillness had wrapped around everything. Above the circle they had drawn on the ground, a void of some kind appeared that soon revealed a glowing blue triangle, its colour standing out from the black and white background. One large eye opened in the middle of it, before black arms and legs formed on its sides along with a bow tie under the eye and a black top hat that floated above. 

First, the eye looked at the two people then around and eventually back at them.  


“Hello, I’m Mason Gleeful. This is my twin sister Mabel Gleeful,” the male introduced them.  


“Hello, my name’s William Cipher,” the triangle answered a moment later. “I suppose you summoned me, because you wish to make a deal?”  


“I do.” He shortly glanced at his sister.  


“What can I do for you then?”  


“We would like your help with.. a few simple things. My sister and I perform shows in which we use magic derived from amulets like this one,” he showed the bolo tie he wore, “And we would like a little benefit to becoming more successful. Come and be around and help us ‘look cool’, by... letting us borrow a little bit of your power perhaps? We’ll do anything in return.” He spoke clear and concise. 

The demon thought about.  


“Magic.. What kind of amulet is that?” 

The young man stepped closer to let the demon see it.  


“Hmm, alright. I don’t really want anything specific in return right now.”  


“You can call in a favour in the future?” the young woman suggested.  


“Maybe.” The twins looked at each other.  


“But.. I’m willing a make deal regardless.”  


“Oh? Well then actually, we have one more request.”  


“Yes?”  


“Since we would like to have you around, we wondered if you could possibly appear human? If you have a more human-like form? It would seem off to others if they saw you in your natural form.”  


“Like a sort of disguise.. I can change my appearance to whatever I want.”  


“Yes. And it’ll be easier for you to help us in the shows.” 

The dream demon thought it over.  
“You want me to be human? Play human at your side?” 

The man young man nodded, “Yes.” 

“Well... That shouldn’t be an issue, I can do that. Sounds fun. Anything else?” 

He looked over at his sister once again, before answering. He shook his head, “You’ll agree to be around and come live with us and our uncle in our mansion and help us whenever needed?”  


“Your uncle too? Okay."

The young man took a step forward, and the demon reached forward a hand that emitted blue flames. They shook hands, and the blue flames briefly flared up around them but didn't burn. Afterwards, a matter of different dark shades enclosed and hid the demon. A little while later the matter descended to the ground and dissipated, revealing the demon in a human form. At the same time, the background returned to its normal state. A pale young-looking man appeared wearing a white shirt under a vibrant blue tail coat that matched the colour of his hair. He wore black pants and gloves, and the same hat and bow tie too as before. For someone who wasn’t usually human, he sure knew how to dress fancily. (So he’d fit right in with the family). His height came somewhere in between the twin’s. Lastly, he wore an eyepatch over his right eye. Although he appeared like any almost-average human, except for his visible eye having a slightly larger iris and a clearly slit pupil, with the knowledge of his power his overall energy didn’t change their view of him. They studied each other for a moment, and a few other small things about the demon’s new form caught their eyes as standing out. Things they could consider asking him to change later on.  


“Let us show you our home”, the male twin said, lifting his arm to indicate their leave. 

The demon was in no hurry, and despite being able to effortlessly float forward, he took his sweet time admiring the forest. Mabel and Mason had patiently slowed down so he could keep up, and they exchanged a few words about requiring him to walk later on. At last they reached the mansion. 

“This is where we live,” Mason said, “and where we hope you’ll find home too”. 

Will curiously followed them to the main entrance, and somewhat engrossed with the large house, he bared notably longer canines. Mason politely opened the door for the others, only to find that the demon had already entered through the wall. When they noticed, Mabel chuckled as she walked by her brother holding the door. 

They all entered the mansion, and the twins started to show the demon around as they told him some overall important things about the place and rules etc. A while later, they met the twin’s uncle. 

“Hello, and welcome to our home!” The middle-aged man greeted. “My name’s Stanford Gleeful, I’m Mason and Mabel’s uncle, and you must be..?”  


“Well, hello there and thank you! My name is William Cipher,” he greeted back.  


“William, I hope you settle in well,” he smiled.  


“Thank you. By the way, just call me Will.” 

The man nodded.  


“A human form...” he then said. “Fascinating, h-” he bit his tongue, about to ask questions. Instead he said, “My niece and nephew will show you the place and help you settle in. I’ll see you around.”  


The demon found the uncle very polite and welcoming and found the twins equally amiable. He found it rather peculiar though how much they did for him (made room, etc.), even though he would just be there to help now and then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Will maybe seems very stupid, but he is after all very naive, and honestly, I find it VERY realistic that you can be very smart yet not able to think very far. 
> 
> Also, I miiight just post several chapters this month


	10. Unresolved disagreement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a lot of dialogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, well, well, here's another already

“Good morning,” Stanford said when he entered the dining room.

“Morning,” Mabel and Mason, who already sat at the table, responded. 

The smell of breakfast and fresh brewed coffee made its way into the room from the kitchen where Will was working. 

“What will you be spending today with?” Stanford asked. 

“I’m going to hangout with Candy and Grenda later,” Mabel answered without looking up from her phone. 

Mason lifted an eyebrow at her answer, before answering their uncle’s question himself, “I don’t know yet. And you?” 

Stanford nodded to their answers as he sat down at the already set table. “I’ll be in my study taking care of a few things at first.” 

Will walked in a couple times and put down the food in front them, before returning to the kitchen to begin clearing up. During breakfast they didn’t talk much and soon left. Will cleaned the rest and thought about what else he had to do today. He probably had to tell Mason about last night – that someone who appeared as his sister had wished harm upon him. He decided to tell him later and first finish his chores. 

While cleaning, Will had figured how he wanted to tell him, now he just needed to find him. Usually when Mason had nothing specific to do, he could be found in the library. Will peeked inside and sure enough, there was Mason with a book in front of him. Delicately, Will knocked on the door frame, noting the way sound didn’t resonate well in the room. The young man turned his head and eyed the demon who only gazed down. 

“Yes? Enter.” 

Will entered the room, “Master, there’s something I need to tell you,” he said, voice low. 

“Go on,” Mason said and turned his whole body to listen. 

Will lifted his head a little, “It’s- it’s about mistress.. I think.” He paused and breathed in. “Yesterday, when you had all gone to bed, I- Something woke me up, and I went to see what was off. Outside was a creature that I~ sensed had you as target.” 

He thought for another second. Mason only awaited his continuation and had half-closed the book he was holding. 

“When I got downstairs, mistress was in the hall, though I’m sure- I’m sure, she was in her room. Later when I had put the creature to sleep, she came outside and started.. she started a fight with me. She- she wanted to hurt you...” He trailed off, thinking back to the weird experience. 

Mason tilted his head, not quite getting where Will was going with it. 

“Uhm, I, I think you need to talk with her, master. I- it- it wasn’t really her, but it appeared to be, and she insisted it really was her… and s-she seemed very upset. With you.” His hands were slightly uneasy at this point. “Also, the creature was spellbound and is no longer after you. I took care of it. The, the not-real mistress disappeared in front of me. After saying, that she didn’t, didn’t truly want to hurt you...” A silent moment followed after Will had finished explaining. 

“Thank you, Will. I will talk to her, and see if she knows of this,” he said with an ever-so-slight wonder. “Did she mention anything about _why _she was upset with me?”__

__“She did.” Will nodded. “She said, you had hurt her, and she only ‘responded in kind’. Uhm, she also said you wouldn’t understand… Please, please talk to her. About that,” Will finished nervously._ _

__“Understand what?”_ _

__“She didn’t s–say what exactly.”_ _

__“Alright. Is there anything else?”_ _

__“No, sir.”_ _

__“Then you may leave.” – Will nodded and scurried off.__

__

__  
Unfortunately for Mason, Mabel wasn’t home. He wanted to talk to her right away. Maybe she didn’t even know about it and had nothing to do with it. Instead he texted her and said he wanted to talk with her, when she came home later._ _

___  
_

__-_ _

__Past dinner, Mabel went to find Mason who’d said he wanted to talk._ _

__“What is it, that you want to talk about?” she asked._ _

__“I was told something interesting earlier today, and I need to know if you had anything to do with it,” he began._ _

__“Okay?” She sat down in one of the armchairs opposite if Mason._ _

__“Yesterday, someone who appeared to be you, had sent some creature after me. Do you know anything about that?”_ _

__With a slightly puzzled expression, she shook her head, “What? No, not- No?!”_ _

__“Do you-”_ _

__“Someone who appeared to be me? Looked like me?” she asked._ _

__“Yes.”_ _

__She gave it a thought, till Mason continued. “Tell me this, are you upset with me?”_ _

__Her eyes met his, when she realized it. Mason noticed the change on her face._ _

__“I-” She paused. “I don’t know anything about some creature, though Grenda and Candy did mention a 'monster' dropping by their homes yesterday. That’s the only I know of.” She sighed and turned to her own thought process about what happened. “Okay, so,” she sighed again, “Yesterday, I was trying to learn some new things about magic and spells. And~ I may have made a... careless attempt at performing one of them.”_ _

__“You did what?” His eyes widened slightly under raised eyebrows._ _

__“You heard me. It… Where are they now? The one that ‘was’ me.”_ _

__Mason rolled his eyes at her inconsideration. “Gone.”_ _

__“Good,” she nodded._ _

__“So what exactly did you do?”_ _

__“I’m guessing what happened, was that I read aloud this spell that would be put on a mirror and turn one’s reflection independent.” She remembered what she had read about it, “And it would be a reflection of whatever your state of mind was in that moment, so~ it would kind of be a live reflection of yourself living on the..” She low-key thought of a way to make it sound less bad. “Living with and on the intention of which it was created. It'll only happen if you see your own reflection. I didn’t think it worked, and I left,” she shrugged._ _

__“Left where? Is the spell still active?”_ _

__“I was down in the tent, and it must be.”_ _

__“You’ve got to break it”_ _

__“Yeah, yeah.” She didn’t think of it so gravely._ _

__They were both quiet for a brief moment._ _

__“Mabel, are you upset with me? You said it reflects your state of mind, correct? Have I hurt you in any way?”_ _

__She stayed silent for a minute. “It was upset with you?” she asked as if he hadn’t already asked that question. Mason nodded._ _

__“Then it must have been about...” she then spoke, “I just don’t get why you keep disagreeing with uncle. I hate when you two fight.”_ _

__Mason chuckled lightly, “Well, because I don’t always agree with his ways.”_ _

__“But why? How not?” She said discontented._ _

__“You already know some of the reason, and the rest is between him and me.” Talking with her didn’t bother him, but he knew discussing this disagreement wouldn’t lead anywhere, yet he continued. “Tell me you have noticed how he treats us differently? I’m honestly tired of it.”_ _

__“Because you keep defying him.”_ _

__“Because there are certain things I don’t want to do. You and him should respect that. They’re not necessary.”_ _

__She’d gotten a similar answer before, and she already knew, but… “It’s a precaution. You really think that little bitch would be friendly if we just let him be free to do as he likes? I wish you would just listen to uncle. Really. The demon has gotten in your head! It astonishes me, how you still find ways to negate everything uncle does.”_ _

__She stood up and took a deep breath._ _

__“But I must also remind myself to be patient, you have after all come a long way, so, I mean, just continue to keep an open mind and consider the things uncle do for us.” She smiled stiffly._ _

__“Have you ever considered that you and uncle aren’t right either?” Mason said. All their “precautions” seemed more like a poor excuse for their sadistic amusement._ _

__She sent him a ‘come-on’-look and sighed. “I’ll take care of the mirror tomorrow after lessons,” she said._ _

__“Alright.”_ _

__“Good night.”_ _

__“Already?”_ _

__Mabel shrugged and started to walk._ _

__“Good night.”_ _

**Author's Note:**

> If you find any grammatical mistakes, you're welcome to tell me so I can correct them:)  
> I hope it's worth reading.  
> I'm open to all critique, questions, and other comments^^


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